Mercedes-Benz said on Thursday that the latest version of the least expensive sedan would be available first as an electric car and then as a hybrid. And the company will no longer sell a version for car gasoline.
This is a long break from how Mercedes and other established car manufacturers have usually worked. Until recently, most automakers were adapted vehicles designed for fossil fuels to be powered by batteries. Mercedes Sedan, CLA, which the company revealed to Rome with rapper Will.i.am, is an example of the way in which at least some established manufacturers first develop electric cars and then adjust them for customers who still want a petrol engine.
CLA, the first of most of the two dozen Mercedes vehicles to use the same basic technology, is a sign that many worldwide manufacturers have a priority in electric vehicles, even when Republicans in the United States are trying to overthrow its Batten -era legislation.
However, it faces uncertain demand for electric vehicles and unpredictable government policies, Mercedes blinks its bets by offering hybrids, which combine traditional petrol engines with relatively small batteries and electric engines.
“If the world is not dominant electric until 2030, we as Mercedes-Benz, as an established manufacturer, cannot be removed from a significant part of our revenue,” said Ola Källenius, Managing Director of Mercedes, in an interview in Rome. “Indeed. You could call it a fence.”
Mercedes did not reveal a price for the new CLA, but said it would be accessible to owners of the current version, which starts at $ 45,000 in the United States. Finally, some of the car accessories will be used in sports vehicles and a stations wagon.
The company has decided to introduce the electric CLA first to the belief that technology advances are dealing with the reasons that people are reluctant to buy electric cars, including inadequate wavy the driving range between loads and refueling time.
“We have addressed all this with the new CLA,” said Markus Schäfer, a member of the Mercedes Board of Directors responsible for technology during a meeting with journalists.
Some versions of CLA can travel almost 500 miles between charges and when using high voltage chargers they can add more than 200 miles from 10 minutes. The hybrid version will take most of its power from a petrol engine, but will be able to travel shortly exclusively to battery power.
The United States, where the car will be available at the end of the year, is critical to Mercedes, which produces sports vehicles in Alabama. But China, where electric and hybrid vehicles representing more than half of new car sales are the largest car market in the world and increasingly determine the tone for industry.
Like almost all foreign automakers, Mercedes has seen its sales fall to China as customers go to electric vehicles manufactured by domestic manufacturers such as byd.
Sales of electric vehicles increased by 35 % in China in January and February since the previous year, according to Rho Motion, a research company. This is compared to 20 % increases in Europe and 20 % in the United States and Canada. The items include plug-in hybrid vehicles.
The increase in sales in the United States has been accelerated this year, possibly because people buy electric vehicles, and they can still collect tax credits of up to $ 7,500, which Republican leaders in Congress said they intend to abolish.
The new CLA depicts the speedy progress made by motorists in battery technology. It is the first vehicle sold by Mercedes with a battery in which some of the toner have been replaced by silicon oxide. The switch helps to increase the amount of energy that the battery can hold by expanding the range of the car.
Cars also show how artificial intelligence penetrates cars. Drivers can ask the car to find a charger who is near, say, a good Italian restaurant.
Among the applications on the digital dashboard of the vehicle is Raidio.fyi, created by Will.I.am, who is a software businessman in addition to guiding black eyes.
The service uses artificial intelligence to let people ask questions during programming, a kind of personalized call radio.
“You could ask:” Hi. So Rihanna has a makeup line I heard. Can you tell me where to buy it based on where I am now? And has my cocoa skin products? “Will.i.am told the Mercedes event.” And he will guide you and tell you where he is. “
